The Significant Benefit Work Permit is a path to a work permit that does not require an LMIA. Click below to know more!

The Significant Benefit Work Permit (SBWP) is a special work permit available to workers whose hiring would deliver significant benefit to Canada, either economically, culturally and/or socially.

As part of the International Mobility Program (IMP), applicants for the SBWP will not need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) during the application process. The LMIA is Canada’s internal assessment to judge what effect the hiring of a foreign worker (under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)), would have on the Canadian labour market.

The SBWP stream is designed for cases where an LMIA might usually be required, but practical considerations (extensive LMIA processing times), or a lack of an appropriate application stream, prevent this from being possible; if Canada is to benefit from the presence of the foreign worker. In this case significant can be defined as (but is not limited to): advancing a Canadian industry, general economic support for Canada, increased health and well-being for Canadians, etc.

Popular use cases for the SBWP

Some of the most common recipients of an SBWP include:

  • Intra-company transferees, often foreign nationals who are employed by a multi-national company and are seeking entry to Canada (in an executive, senior manager, or specialized role);
  • Television and film production workers whose roles are central to production;
  • Entrepreneurs and self-employed workers; and
  • Emergency repair personnel who work on industrial or commercial equipment.

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